A record number of Chinese private equity and hedge funds have dissolved in recent months as new regulations limit their fundraising.

In the first six months of this year, the Asset Management Association of China (Amac) — a government-controlled industry body — “lost contact” with 163 private fund institutions, more than 70 per cent of the total for which contact was lost for 2017.

Of these 163 private funds, more than 70 per cent are private equity or venture capital funds, according to an analysis of Amac data by National Business Daily, a Shanghai-based newspaper. The others are mostly hedge funds that invest in publicly traded securities.

In an attempt to advance the transparency and cost-effectiveness of debt capital issuance, the World Bank has turned to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to help them issue a bond using blockchain technology.

Aptly dubbed the “bond-i”, the World Bank says this is the first security worldwide where blockchain has been used for its creation, allocation, transfer of ownership and management.

The World Bank chose CBA as it believes Australia is a world leader in blockchain technology, and the government is known to be interested in the advancing the use of these technologies.

The deal shows how fast blockchain has moved from research and development and a pilot phase to real world, market applications.